SPRINGFIELD -- The city, having recently advertised for bids to purchase and redevelop the vacant, tornado-damaged Elias Brookings Elementary School, is getting significant interest in the site, according to Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

Proposals are due by Sept. 12, at 2 p.m., at the Office of Procurement at City Hall.

The city is seeking a buyer for the school property on Hancock Street in Six Corners, while a new school is being built at a nearby lot. The old school was deemed beyond repair as a school after struck by a tornado on June 1, 2011.

“We’re very excited about the potential of this property and bringing new life back to a former school building”, Sarno said in a prepared release. “There has been significant interest in this opportunity, and we expect that will translate into strong competition for the property.”

The city began advertising for developers on June 25.

The former Elias Brookings School site is an important part of the overall revitalization of the Six Corners and Old Hill neighborhoods, Sarno said.

The three-story school was built in 1925, and contains 56,610 square feet of building space within a lot totaling 77,903 square feet.

The building is located in the midst of significant infrastructure investments planned for the next two years which include roadway improvements, upgraded streetscapes and lighting, a new middle school, a renovated park, and new single family homes along Central Street, Sarno said.

The City has already committed $13 million in federal Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds (CDBG-DR) to fund several projects in the neighborhood.

The new school being constructed at 433 Walnut St., is scheduled to open in 2015.

There are additional infrastructure improvement projects such as the realignment of Central Street and installation of streetscape improvements.